Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR) is the leading treatment for rapid recovery from traumatic experiences and persistent memories. It is an incredibly effective treatment for anxiety arising from losses, health problems, life stressors or pressures, infidelity, rejection or abandonment insecurities, abuse, interpersonal conflicts, phobias, natural disasters, accidents, and traumatic moments. Painful experiences can affect how we think and feel about ourselves, others, and the world around us. For instance, relationship loss or adverse childhood circumstances can invoke beliefs such as "I’m worthless, It's all my fault, I'm not good enough". Being harassed, enduring chronic illness, or navigating family dysfunction may lead to thoughts like "I'm unsafe, 'I'm incapable, I can't handle it." EMDR helps link the difficult memory with more adaptive thoughts. This can change how we feel about the memory and what we perceive about it. EMDR treatment follows a structured 8-phase protocol: 

1: History-Taking

Sharing about the memories to process, as well as the thoughts and feelings they bring up. This phase typically refrains from exploring explicit or extensive details.

2: Resourcing (building skills for emotion regulation and resilience)

This phase helps to feel more grounded before addressing the distressing memories. Building resources allow for easier coping of intense material.

3-6: Reprocessing and Desensitization

You'll begin by focusing on the experience you want to resolve and rating the intensity of your emotional reaction to it. You'll also likely identify a positive belief that you'd like to work toward internalizing. Your therapist will guide you through the bilateral stimulation as you continue focusing on the experience. Your job is to simply notice what happens to your thoughts, feelings, and somatic senses as you follow the therapist's guidance. You'll repeat versions of this process until you no longer experience distress when contemplating the trauma and can effortlessly focus on the desired belief.

7-8: Tracking Between Sessions & Assessing Progress

Most sessions end with a discussion of your experience, and recommendations to note your related thoughts and feelings between sessions in order to track your progress and guide your work in sessions.

During your EMDR sessions, we focus on memories that hold lingering anxiety or grief, while activating and engaging both hemispheres of the brain simultaneously. This assists the brain in organizing and making sense of distressing experiences rather than feel stuck in the emotions of them. Doing so helps to reprocess the memory so that it's no longer as recurring, intense, or overwhelming.